Description:
MGI's VideoWave 3.0 is a solid editing package that harnesses the power of today's digital video (DV) systems and wraps it up in an interface that is easy to grasp, yet has plenty of options. It is designed for the beginning editor and hobbyist, and features a straightforward, drag-and-drop interface. It is optimized for use with a computer equipped with a IEEE-1394 (FireWire) interface, although it will use whatever video capture card is installed.Editing is quick and easy. Files are imported into a project window and trimmed (i.e., made shorter by cutting part of the beginning and part of the ending of a clip), then added to a storyline. Transitions like wipes and dissolves can be added between clips, as well as five additional soundtracks. VideoWave can import and export almost every imaginable file type, making it an excellent conversion utility. The standard movie formats are all supported: Quicktime, AVI, and MPEG. However, it's not limited to importing movie files--VideoWave will happily accept still image files like JPEG, TIFF, TGA, and Photoshop PSD files, to name a few. Especially nice is the ability to import Kodak PhotoCD images. This ability to import still graphics, along with WAV sound files, makes VideoWave a handy tool for creating slide shows with transitions and soundtracks. Editing video on a computer used to be a complex task involving expensive and obtuse software and hardware, but next-generation computers, inexpensive digital video cameras, and powerful, affordable editing software are changing the landscape of video production and laying waste to old methods. --Mike Caputo
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